In the super eight group 1 Twenty Twenty match between Sri lanka and New Zealand , New Zealand escaped the pressure of chasing against the Sri Lanka spinners when they won the toss and decided to bat first in the first of the Super Eight matches.

Martin Guptill boosted the New Zealand batting, but his inclusion resulted in one bowlerAdam Milne - being taken out.

New Zealand will take heart from the fact that Sri Lanka have never successfully chased in a home T20I.

However, New Zealand had a host of spinners lining up to bowl against them, including Akila Dananjaya, who after impressing Mahela Jayawardene in a training session was fast-tracked to play the SLPL and now finds himself with an international cap at the age of 18.

According to Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis was "90% fit", but he was picked to play, replacing Rangana Herath.